On Coulter, Christians, And Jews

American Thinker ^ | October 13, 2007 | Steven M. Warshawsky

[neverdem]

On Donny Deutch's television talk show earlier this week, Ann Coulter honestly answered "yes" when asked by Deutch if she believes that this country "would be better if we were all Christian."  She further stated that Christians "just want Jews to be perfected," i.e., to accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior.  (The full transcript is here .)

Let the outrage begin!

Deutch, a liberal Jew, accused Coulter of making "hateful" and "anti-Semitic" remarks.

Michael Savage, host of one of the most popular conservative talk radio shows, and also a Jew, likewise accused Coulter of anti-Semitism, and called her a "deranged hag" for good measure.

I must say that Savage's comments surprised me, because he has been one of the strongest voices in recent years against the cult of "political correctness."  And what is Coulter's crime in this case?  Not that she is an anti-Semite.  This is absurd.  I seriously doubt that either Savage or Deutch truly believes that Coulter "hates" Jews.  Rather, Coulter's crime is that she violated one of PC's most sacred taboos:  Expressing belief in the correctness of one's religion.  The only thing worse than this in PC land is asserting the superiority of one's race. 

Well, at least when it comes to white Christians.  For the rules of PC do not apply equally to all.  They do not apply to Jews or blacks or women (except to the extent these groups express "conservative" points of view).  The strictures and penalties of PC only apply to the majority of the American people, as well as to the Founding Fathers who established this great country, and to the many generations of overwhelmingly white Christian Americans who built this nation into the freest, richest, and most powerful country on earth, and defended our country through several bloody wars against its enemies, foreign and domestic. 

The ideology of PC is anti-American to its core.  Its fundamental purpose is not to ensure that "minority" Americans share more fully in the American Dream.  Its goal is to tear apart this nation -- its people, its culture, its history -- root and branch, and replace it with a miasma of atheism, socialism, and multiculturalism.  To see Michael Savage acting the part of PC police is stunning.     

Moreover, for Jews of any political persuasion to take offense at Coulter's comments strikes me as deeply ignorant and immature.  Do Jews truly expect Christians to pretend that they do not believe in the teachings of their religion?  Why?  Because so many Jews have discarded the teachings of their own religion?  (I myself am a secular Jew.)  The "logic" at work here seems to be that, because so many Jews can imagine, along with John Lennon, a world in which "there's no heaven" and "no religion too," it is offensive and outrageous for other folks to disagree with this sanitized vision of the future.  Many Christians, however, still believe in their religion, still believe it is the path to eternal salvation, and fail to appreciate what is so wonderful about the fairy tale world invoked in Lennon's song.  From a PC perspective, this makes them "insensitive" and "bigoted" and "hateful."

I say, thank god that so many Christians in this country still believe in their religion!  That is the only thing that will prevent the violent and tyrannical expansion of the Muslim world.  And that is the only thing that will preserve the existence of the Jewish people.

As a Jew, I recognize, with painful humility, that the existence of my person, my people, lies at the mercy of the larger, stronger peoples in whose midst we live.  To deny this fact is to deny reality.  Not too long ago, the people of Nazi Germany, along with their allies and collaborators, attempted to eradicate the Jewish people once and for all.  The Final Solution they called it.  They nearly succeeded.  But while the Germans and Poles and Dutch and French and the many others who participated in this obscene massacre were Christians, it was not their Christianity that impelled them to these acts.  It was the vicious political ideology of the Nazis.  This is what triggered the Holocaust.

The truth is that the Jews of Europe could not have saved themselves from Hitler's rampage.  Practically every Jew alive today owes his or her existence to the fact that Hitler was defeated by the brave and virtuous troops of the Anglo-American alliance, practically all of whom were Christians too.  Could FDR and Churchill and the rest of the western leaders have done more to help the Jews, both before and during the war?  Perhaps.  (Forget what the Soviets could have done; their moral corruption ran almost as deep as the Nazis'.)  But I refuse to play that despicable blame game.  I simply am grateful for the good people of this country, who made for my grandparents and parents, and now for me, the best home on earth that Jews have ever enjoyed.      

Today, the leaders of Iran -- the most powerful Islamic nation, with aspirations of regional, indeed world, domination -- speak openly of eliminating the state of Israel, i.e., the largest concentration of Jews outside of the United States.  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has vowed repeatedly to "wipe Israel off the map."  Just this week, the former president of Iran, Hashemi Rafsanjani (often referred to as a "moderate"), commented during a sermon (yes, during a religious service)  that the Nazis "saved" Europe from the evils of Zionism.  In other words, the Nazis did Europe a favor by murdering six million Jews.  Where was the outrage from western leftists?  Where were the screams of protest from liberal Jews?  What will these idiots say when the nuclear bombs start falling on Israel?  Probably that Israel caused it, or could have prevented it, or even deserved it.  The mere existence of the Jewish state will be deemed sufficient justification for its total destruction.  My stomach is sick with the thought of how easily Muslim genocide of Jews will be excused, even by Jews themselves.

Make no mistake, New York City -- i.e., "Jew York City" -- will be next.  Destroy Israel and New York City, and most of the world's remaining Jews will be dead.  When this day comes, a substantial part of the Muslim world will be cheering, just as they cheered the destruction of the World Trade Towers on 9/11.

But measured by the amount of heat and vitriol her comments generated, the real enemy apparently is Ann Coulter.  How dare she assert the truth of her religion?  True or not, I know that Christianity is far preferable to Islam.  Would Donny Deutch and Michael Savage and all of the other critics who are blasting Coulter rather live in a Muslim country?  One does not have to be a scholar of the world's religions (and I am not) to know the answer to that question. 

This is the real choice facing Jews in this country, and even in Israel.  John Lennon's fantasy of universal peace and love and brotherhood does not exist, and never will exist.  The fate of the world's Jews, and Christians for that matter, ultimately depends on the ability and willingness of the Christian West, especially the United States, to prevail in the steadily intensifying struggle we are witnessing across the globe between Islam and Christianity. 

What Deutch and Savage and the other critics fail to understand is that only a Christian people who truly believes in the correctness, indeed superiority, of their religion will be able to win this fight.  A secularized people who believes in nothing but watery principles of tolerance and democracy inevitably will succumb to the combination of violent Islamic intimidation and the "nondiscriminatory" imperatives of their own multicultural worldview.  If sharia ever does come to the United States, I am quite certain that its handmaidens will be atheists and liberals, not believing Christians.

As a Jew living in this great country, I have no doubt who my enemies are, and who are my allies.  And I know to which group Ann Coulter belongs.

Steven M. Warshawsky      

[Edit35]

Coulter demanding perfection is a joke. Jesus never demanded perfection.

Coulter never demanded biological perfection of any human, Jewish or otherwise.

The basic tenant of Christianity is that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for all us IM-PERFECT humans, and thus by accepting Christ one can become perfected in the eyes of God.

This is Christianity-101.

Basic.

As for your feigned insult over comparing Coulter to Billy Graham, I would venture to say that both agree on the redemptive powers (dare I say perfection) of Christianity.

As Christians, we believe that we become 'perfected' in the eyes of God when we accept Christ, and thus are able to enter Heaven when we die.

Is that so hard to understand??

[Edit35]

There are those who do not want Christians or Conservatives to be heard because we are a stumbling block to THEIR goals.

Bravo, my friend.

There are people right here in my small click of Republicans who wish religious Republicans would just shut up and stop referring to their church activities, etc.

They complain about 'Bible thumpers' -- just as vehemently as the leftist looney Democrats. It is sometimes disheartening.

By the way, love the "stumbling block" reference.

[the808bass]

no but when we’re facing the prospect of Hillary vs Rudy, this is the last thing conservatives need right now

I don't understand your statement. Are you saying if there is no conservative actually in the Presidential race that conservatives shouldn't answer any questions in such a way that might offend liberals?

[the808bass]

Jesus never demanded perfection.

I'm not sure how you could be more wrong.

Matthew 5:48
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

And yes, the verb is in the imperative.

[Reagan Man]

>>>>>As for your feigned insult over comparing Coulter to Billy Graham...

No insult was intended, feigned or otherwise. Just posting truth. Billy Graham is a man of God, imperfect as he is. Ann Coulter proved she can use bigoted rhetoric. Nuff said.

[Reagan Man]

I wouldn’t call that a demand.

We are all sinners. Imperfection is part of being human.

Demanding Jews be perfect, is silly talk.

[sauropod]

read

[ru4liberty]

Hi, bbm. Good to see you.

...The Empty Alley.

Those were the days, my friend. Sigh.

[Mamzelle]

It is a tenet of Christianity that we evangelize. Live with it...while you're building footwash facilities at the University of Michigan.

If the Muslims take over, no more Christians will invite Jews to church. Won't that be a wonderful world for Jews, then?

[rmlew]

The most ironic part of this entire controversy is that Ann Coulter actually brought up the issue that has shaped so much of Christian history. Jesus came 2000 years ago and said that He would fulfill or "perfect" the promises that God had made to His people, the Jews. The Jews didn't see Jesus as the promised Messiah, and they eventually crucified Jesus for making that claim.
History is what you have wrong. Heck, you don't even have the Gospel of Matthew right!
Jesus was condemned for heresy and for being a false prophet. However had been killed according to Jewish law, he would have been stoned in public.
He wasw killed by the Romans, like so many other Messianic claimants, in order to prevent rebellion.

While many of the early Christians were killed by the Romans because the Romans didn't like seeing a new religion gaining popularity, much of the instigation against Christians came from Jews who were angry that Christians still saw Jesus as someone who fulfilled/perfected God's Old Testament promises.
Overblown. Jews were highly suspected and quite persectuded by Rome after 67 AD. Many Chistians were killed as Jews.

And after Constantine, Christian Rome persecuted Jews in the name of Christianity.

[familyop]

"I understand you see all sorts of bogey men where they don’t exist from previous conversations with you. I only pray that this filter that you apply to all things Christian stop blocking your ability to see the truth of what Jesus’s gospel says and not what you think it says. Peace."

Averted to the rising Marcionism, Henry-Beecher-isms, false types and shadows, and repeats of other libertine anomalies during the '70s, '80s and '90s, I've learned to fear and and pray to the Name of only one G-d. That shouldn't be misconstrued as a fear of others. As for Ann, her talk showed her ignorance, IMO. She spoke against Judaism from having been taught some very old lies and with little or no knowledge of the truth.

We are not in the America that I knew only a few decades ago. It's become more like old Europe, with a right wing (western European fascist), a left wing (eastern European/Asian communist), and no more visible vestige of right (Orthodox Judaism, remnants of Puritanism,...).

[WFTR]

The Jews didn't have the power to execute anyone. They had limited autonomy to run many of their own affairs, but they did not have complete authority to enact all of the Mosaic Law. When they took Jesus to Pilate, Pilate told them to go ahead and punish Jesus according to their law. They replied that they were bringing Jesus to the Romans because they weren't allowed to use the death penalty. They made threats about stoning people as they threatened to stone Jesus once or twice and talked about stoning the woman accused of adultery. Maybe they even got carried away by passion and occasionally did stone someone, but they weren't supposed to execute people under Roman law. That's why they brought Jesus to Pilate.

They could complain about Jesus being a false prophet or speaking heresy, but the things He said that they considered to be heresy and false prophecy were His claims that He was the Messiah sent from God. In other words, the real problem between Jesus and the Jewish leaders of that time was exactly as I described.

The Romans were willing to execute anyone who claimed kingly leadership in order to prevent rebellion, but after Pilate questioned Jesus, Pilate concluded that Jesus hadn't done anything that would constitute that crime. Jesus was guilty of nothing under Roman law and was executed only because the Jewish leaders insisted that Jesus be killed.

If you read Acts, you'd see that much of the conflict and persecutive that Christians faced came from the Jewish leaders. One Roman official summed up the controversy against Paul by saying that the argument was over Jesus who had been killed and Paul asserted to be alive. Another Roman official even said of one controversy that Paul might have been freed after one incident if Paul hadn't appealed to Caesar. Certainly, there was Roman persecution of Christians outside of any conflict with the Jews, but conflict with the Jewish authorities was part of the persecution of early Christians.

I don't doubt that Christian Rome persecuted Jews a few hundred years later. Power has a bad habit of causing corruption, and there are those within any government who aspire to power because they enjoy hurting other people. That's why our Founding Fathers wrote the First Amendment to try to keep the United States from falling into that kind of sectarian violence.

What I've written is correct. You're welcome to disagree. It's a free country, and people in a free country can disagree. However, you should never think that you are smart enough or educated enough to lecture me. The ignorance of what you've written here proves that point. When you grow up, get some facts straight, and get your attitude straight, maybe we can discuss the issue again.

Bill

[familyop]

"She made clear in that same interview that speaking the truth as she earnestly believes without apology is what drives Marxists insane."

Then she didn't realize that she was arguing about an internal conflict between Christians. Marx's family was Lutheran, and Marx was influenced by Voltaire.

[familyop]

There have been many forgeries written about Pilate in order to defame Jewish people in general and to elevate certain parts of his ancient Roman paganism.

[grey_whiskers]

I think this was a setup -- but not of the cheap "gotcha" kind which most people think of first.

Read my full vanity on it here.

Cheers!

[getitright]

If you do not believe that your religion is perfect, you are an idiot.

[Louis Foxwell]

Then she didn't realize that she was arguing about an internal conflict between Christians. Marx's family was Lutheran, and Marx was influenced by Voltaire.

Your feeble attemot to link Marx with Christianity is absurd on its face. Marx opposed the very concept of absolute truth. Christianity is based on it.

[Louis Foxwell]

Then she didn't realize that she was arguing about an internal conflict between Christians. Marx's family was Lutheran, and Marx was influenced by Voltaire.

Your feeble attempt to link Marx with Christianity is absurd on its face. Marx opposed the very concept of absolute truth. Christianity is based on it.

[getitright]

You will have two kinds of replies to that- those who agree entirely, and those who lack the wisdom or honesty to get it.

Good luck with the latter. They can really wear ya down.

I would at least hope, if the Ann bashers here can’t agree that she is right, that they can at least recognize that her reply is 100% consistent with the Christian Bible and with the teaching of Christianity.

Let me anitcipate the coming ignorant diversions. “God is love... nobody is perfect... Christians should not judge... we should forgive one another...

Nonetheless, Ann is right. Our only salvation is through Christ.

[WFTR]

Are you calling the Gospel accounts “forgeries?” You’re welcome to hold and state that belief, but I want to be sure that I understand you correctly. I don’t think anything in the whole account elevates Pilate’s ancient Roman paganism. I’m just saying that he didn’t see Jesus as having broken the Roman law.